"I can't believe you suggested that," Harry began as they made their way to the library after they finished eating. Hermione had finally relaxed her shoulders after Ron had been eager to start this plan immediately, after Harry filled him in on what he'd found out from Dumbledore, and left the table to brag about Hermione to Lavender, which made her blush. ("You know, it's funny, Hermione. When we first met, I'd never in a million years want to brag about you, but now, there's plenty you can do that she couldn't dream of.")
Hermione groaned. "I can't either. It feels so stupid. But I thought that maybe in pretending, he'd realize how he actually feels about me? It sounded like a good idea at the time, but now that I'm trying to figure it out, I'm not sure it is."
"Well, really the only thing that's affected is our plan. Should I keep pretending with you or do we not want to do that anymore?"
"I don't know." She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "Let's just worry about horcruxes, okay? That seems much easier right now."
Except it wasn't. In the two hours before class started, neither Harry nor Hermione had anything except a stack of books higher than their heads.
"I can't believe there's nothing! There's never nothing but this… it's like horcruxes don't even exist." She flipped through the same book for the fifth time absentmindedly, as if something would appear that wasn't there before. "I've never come up this empty-handed." Hermione ran a hand over her face as her head fell onto Harry's shoulder next to her.
"Not even in the restricted section?"
"Not even in the restricted section. But I suppose I can check again."
"Yeah, of course. I'll come back with you."
"You don't have to do that, Harry." She picked her head up and turned to face him.
"I know. But I'm not expecting you to do research on this by yourself. I know you're better at it than I am, but this concerns me more than you. You shouldn't have to do it all."
A tired smile crossed Hermione's face. "Thank you. You know I'm not going to let you do anything by yourself either, right?"
"We'll see," he chuckled, quickly taking notes of the books they had out before standing. "Come on. Let's put these back and head to class. We don't want to be late when exams are coming up."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?"
"Well, you're taking a page out of my book. I figured I'd take a page out of yours," he shrugged. Hermione just shook her head as she gathered her books and left the table.
They went their separate ways to put them back, and Hermione knew she did need to focus on class, but there was a part of her that started prioritizing Harry's safety. School would always be there, and she could go back after all this was done. But though her class assignments obviously needed to get done, and testing was going to happen, keeping Harry alive was a lot more important. She couldn't lose him. Even the thought of it hurt. Harry was… well, she didn't want to think about it too much. Having a best friend was something she wasn't ready to give up yet. She and Ron would probably be fine, but Harry was the main target, and she knew that.
"Are you all right?" Harry's voice drew her back out of the negative thoughts, and she smiled when she turned to him. He was here now, and that's what mattered.
"Yeah. I am," she breathed as the last of her books slipped back into its place on the shelf. "Sorry, just thinking."
Harry only nodded. "We'll be okay, Hermione." He'd noticed Hermione seeming to space out a little bit lately, and he knew she was taking Voldemort's comeback hard. They all were, but it seemed to affect her a little more frequently than usual. Her brain was always thinking, always working, and she kept putting more and more on her plate. And he hated that he kept adding more mysteries that she expected to solve. He needed to think of a way to ease that stress, and if that meant helping her research, he would. Withholding information, even, if it came down to it. He was smart - there were some things he could figure out himself.
Hermione took a deep breath. "I know we will."
Their walk to class was silent, and a little farther apart than normal just at the fear of getting too emotional too early in the morning. But Hermione found herself longing to be near his side. After all the closeness and touching they'd been doing over the past week, this distance was… odd.
She didn't sit next to Harry in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Instead, she immediately took a seat next to Ron, leaving Seamus to partner with Harry, who looked over in confusion.
"Ron, I need your help with something," she whispered as she set out her book and a piece of parchment to write on.
Ron seemed a little taken aback at Hermione needing his help, but he answered quickly. "Yeah, of course. Whatever you need."
"I need Harry's Invisibility Cloak."
Ron's eyes glanced over at Harry, who was taking out his books and talking to Seamus. "What for?" he asked quickly.
"I need to do some research in the restricted section and I don't want to be interrupted."
"And I assume Harry doesn't know you have this plan?"
"No," she admitted. "But I don't want to go into your dorm while everyone's in bed, so I need you to get it for me tonight." Hermione halted, sitting up a bit straighter as Snape walked by, moving to the front of the room to give them instruction for the day.
More than usual, Defense Against the Dark Arts had been stressful once Harry had told them about what Snape was up to. It seemed like he was tenser than normal, as if he knew there was something they knew.
"Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"
Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet, and she looked down at her parchment. Ron spoke up. "No, Professor."
"Then I suggest you save your conversations for afterwards."
"Yes, sir," she peeped. Once Snape's back was turned, she quickly wrote a note on the top of her paper: After class. Ron looked over the message and nodded, and the rest of the class went by smoothly, though Hermione caught Snape eyeing them every once in a while.
As soon as they were dismissed, Ron and Hermione seemed to be the first ones out of the room, getting to the door well before Harry, even though he was across the aisle. He frowned as they snuck off.
"So what is it that you're researching?" Ron asked as soon as they were alone in a side corridor that wasn't usually too busy. Not very much risk of people coming by, though it didn't get past Hermione that she hadn't been alone with Ron in a while. But she wasn't going to lie; it did make her heart flutter a little bit, though she tried to convince herself it was just because they had a secret plan.
"The horcruxes," she whispered. "We went to the library before class this morning, but I couldn't find anything. I was able to get some restricted books, but I know there has to be something else in there. I didn't look through everything."
"Shouldn't Harry be trying to figure that out too? Why is it a secret?"
Hermione sighed, leaning against the wall. "I don't… I don't want him to think I'm doing too much. He keeps asking me if I'm okay, but I want to do my part too, you know?"
"Yeah, of course. Do you want me to come with you?"
As inviting as being under the Cloak with Ron was, Hermione shook her head. "No. If Harry finds you out at night, he's going to get suspicious and come looking. He won't know I'm gone. Please, Ron, I'll come up with something for Lavender for you." She watched his face for a second as a smirk came over his face.
"Okay. Look, if it's getting rid of her, I'll do whatever it takes. Tonight, right?" Hermione nodded. "Done. I'll meet you in the common room at 10, after everyone's in bed."
"Thank you," she whispered, resisting the urge to kiss him.
"Hey! Where'd you two run off to?" Harry laughed, waving to Seamus as he caught them out of the corner of his eye.
"Sorry, Lavender planning," Hermione answered. "I wanted to make sure we talked about it before I forgot."
"You, forget something?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, playfully smacking his shoulder. "It happens occasionally. I… think we've agreed, though, right? About the plan?" Her eyes looked toward Ron, who nodded.
"Do I get to be in on it?"
"Maybe," Ron answered. "Once it's really in motion, you know. Don't want to say too much out here. She might hear."
Hermione couldn't help but smile sheepishly, a small giggle bubbling up in her chest subconsciously. There was no way this was actually happening. Ron had agreed to go behind Harry's back to help her. It seemed unreal.
She basically had to force Harry to bed that night, promising that she'd be right up behind him, and that Harry needed his rest as Quidditch captain. It was true; Harry couldn't deny it. So, he'd reluctantly left Hermione in the common room.
Her heart was racing as she waited for Ron. It seemed too quiet, and she began to worry that he hadn't been able to do it. Then what would she do? How would she know? What if Harry had kept Ron up talking to him and he couldn't get away?
But after what seemed like forever, Hermione finally let out a sigh of relief when she saw Ron heading down the stairs with the Cloak in his hands. "You made it," she grinned, standing from the couch and reaching out her hands.
"Yeah, sorry it took so long. I wanted to wait for him to fall asleep. And it's kind of hard to find, because… well… you know." He held the fabric out to Hermione, who laughed a little and nodded.
Ron grinned as she took it, a half smile Hermione realized she hadn't seen in longer than she realized. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?"
For a split second, it sounded like Ron wanted to join her. She grabbed two corners of the cloak and held it up against her body. "I really don't think we'll fit, but if you really want to go to the library… I'm not going to say no."
"We've done it before."
"We were eleven, Ron. You've grown a little bit."
Ron rolled his eyes playfully. "Come on, Hermione. I want to help. I feel like I've been kind of… useless lately."
"Because you haven't left Lavender's side." Hermione winced internally - that had come out a little harsher than she'd intended.
"I know. It's not that I don't want to hang out with you, I just… she's…"
Hermione nodded. "Well, we don't have time to discuss it, okay? If you really want to come, we can try to squeeze under here. If not, I'll bring this back before morning." She tried to hide the shakiness in her voice at the option, or the hope she was sure leaked through. Her eyes moved down to her feet as she waited for his answer. Honestly, she wasn't really sure which one she'd prefer. On one hand, she'd love the alone time with Ron, and if she really thought about it, the library could be romantic in the right setting. On the other hand, tagging another person along on a mission that involved stealth could create a whole other set of issues, especially since keeping quiet hadn't always been Ron's specialty.
"Okay, fine. Let's go, then." He took the Cloak back from her and opened it, tossing it over their heads and scooting in close so they'd be mostly covered. Hermione's breath caught, and she tried to steady it. He was nearly pressed against her back, and she could feel him breathing lightly on her hair. "Is this okay? I think our feet are covered. I remember there being a lot more space under here."
Hermione nodded. "I told you we were a lot smaller," she whispered. "Okay, I have no idea how we're going to do this, but we'll have plenty of time to get there."
"Right." He held it above them a little while she raised the front so she wouldn't trip over it. They took a couple minutes to practice maneuvering so close to each other while walking, but as if nothing had changed in the past five years (and what had, really?), Hermione was surprised to find their silent communication and subtle body movements steering each other almost effortlessly.
She couldn't help but smile. "It feels like we're back in first year again," she laughed.
"Except without Fluffy."
"Don't jinx it."
Ron spoke again as they were about to leave the common room. "Are you wearing the perfume I gave you?"
Hermione paused. "Yes," she replied, unsure of the emotion she was supposed to portray.
"Good. I like it better on you than just from the bottle."
"Thanks," she replied, though she was glad she was in front of him so he couldn't see the deep blush that suddenly appeared on her face.
They made it to the library without much turmoil, though Hermione had gotten nervous when Ron accidentally stepped on a corner of the Cloak on the stairs and it pulled off of them entirely. Luckily, it had been easy to get to a shadow and throw it back on without being spotted. She really wished she'd gotten the Marauder's Map, too, so she could find some hidden passages.
"Have you tried-"
"Sh," Hermione whispered, jumping a little at Ron's voice, almost having forgotten he was behind her. "We'll talk inside."
She flicked her wand towards the door and heard a click as it unlocked. This wasn't anything new to her, but as soon as they slipped in and Ron began again, Hermione put her hand up, shushing him once more.
"Homenum Revelio." A few seconds later, she quickly pulled the Cloak off of them, taking a deep breath of relief at the cool air.
"What was that?" Ron asked, running his fingers through his hair to fix it.
"Detection spell," Hermione explained. "Haven't you learned that one?"
"No… maybe. I don't know. But… the lock. How many nonverbals can you do?"
Hermione rolled her eyes playfully as she folded the cloak up and draped it over her arm. "Only ones I know really well. Otherwise, I still have to say it. Haven't you been practicing?! We're supposed to be learning and you know it'll be on our exams!"
"I'm barely decent at verbal spells, Hermione. Help me."
"Not here," she whispered. "But… I can later."
"So what are we looking for?"
Part of her suddenly regretted bringing him along and wondered if the closeness was worth it, but she realized this was Ron, and she should be grateful that he was trying to help at least. Plus, she'd get him all to herself for a little bit instead of Lavender, which brewed up a strange feeling of pride and the urge to boast that she wasn't used to. "Information about horcruxes. Or any kind of Dark magic that might point us in that direction."
"Do we know what they do?"
"No, just the name."
"Right." His eyes scanned the shelves of books they passed as they headed to the Restricted Section. "That's it, huh? Just the name."
Hermione turned to him, crossing her arms. "Something wrong with that? I told you what this was going to be. Harry and I just ran out of time this morning."
"No, no, I just… we're gonna be here all night, aren't we?"
"That was the plan."
Ron just nodded, but Hermione could tell he wasn't incredibly excited about the realization. She didn't have time to dwell on it, instead unlocking the gate to the Restricted Section and getting to work by the light of her wand. Within a few minutes, she'd taken a few books that looked promising and deposited them onto a small table, where Ron was seated with two books of his own, looking at them with a kind of glazed-over look in his eyes. Well, at least he tried. Hermione sat down next to him and opened the cover of the first book. "Do you even know how to do research?" she teased.
"No, not really," Ron responded with a smirk, opening his own and skimming the first page.
When he'd been silent for a while, Hermione looked over to find Ron snoring a little with his cheek resting on one of the books. She smiled, pushing his hair back a little hesitantly so he wouldn't wake up. When he didn't, she relaxed, just looking at him. She hadn't really gotten to see him asleep very often, only a few times when she'd had to wake him up at the Burrow. Now, though, in one of her favorite places, it had been a while since she had seen him this peaceful, this relaxed.
He didn't wake up until a couple hours later, when Hermione had been through all her books and she'd grabbed some more. She found herself yawning a few times, but she was glad for the company. His eyes opened and he picked his head up off the book. "What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his face.
"Almost one."
"Oh… have you found anything?"
"Nothing. It's… so frustrating."
"M'sorry. Anything I can help with?"
"I don't think so," Hermione sighed. "But thank you for coming, anyway. I'm glad you got some sleep."
Ron chuckled nervously. "I thought I'd be able to stay up longer. This stuff is just so boring."
"Agreed. I think I'm about ready to call it a night myself, honestly." She yawned again to prove her point and closed her book. "I guess we'll just have to count on Harry to get the answer from Slughorn."
"He can do it. You know he can."
"I know he can." Hermione repeated. "I just sometimes wish he didn't have to."
Ron was quiet as she put her books back. It was a little unnerving at first, but he came up behind her to help replace the books. "It's always been the three of us, hasn't it? Doing all this. Fighting monsters and solving problems."
"Yeah."
"Don't you ever wonder why?"
Hermione paused, frowning softly, and turned around. "What do you mean?"
Ron shrugged. "I dunno. I just… we put ourselves in danger every year. And other students don't have to. They get to be normal and just be kids, while we're out fighting wars."
"I've been thinking about that a lot, too, honestly," Hermione admitted. "It's not fair. I know that. But… we've succeeded this far. We're good at it. We're good at learning and fighting and knowing each other. I mean, you and Harry are my best friends. I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect you."
"And we'd do the same for you."
"I know you would. As far as all of this goes, though, I guess that's just the consequences of you saving me from that troll," she teased.
"Hey, that was all Harry's idea," Ron laughed.
"Are you saying you wouldn't have gone after me?"
"Back then, no. I didn't like you, remember? Well, neither did Harry, but he was the one who remembered you were in the bathroom when everyone was evacuating."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. You didn't know that?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh. Yeah. But now, of course, I'd be the first one there."
Hermione wasn't sure how to feel about that. Harry had tried to protect her even when he didn't like her. No wonder he'd been sorted into Gryffindor. It hadn't really bothered her that much that Ron hadn't been involved - she didn't like him back then, either. The whole reason she was in the bathroom in the first place was because Ron had insulted her. But the man in front of her now would never say anything like that.
"It's funny how much things have changed, isn't it?" Ron continued.
"Yeah, it is."
She stared at him for a minute until an awkward smile came over his face. "What?"
Hermione averted her gaze quickly. "Nothing, nothing."
"Come on, you can tell me. We're alone."
She swallowed hard. Should she just tell him and get all of this over with? What if he said no? That would definitely change things. Maybe. At least for her. But what other chance would she have? Maybe it was the tiredness talking, but she slowly took the seat next to Ron.
"I was just thinking about how our relationship has changed."
Ron nodded softly. "Yeah." He half-smiled as he lifted a couple of books to their place. Hermione paused. She was suddenly nervous. She found her hands shaking subconsciously and quickly stopped them. She had no issue with telling Viktor that she fancied him, and she had no problem pretending with Harry, but this… this was different entirely.
"Ron, I-"
He turned to look at her. "I know, Hermione."
Her eyes widened. "You… you do?"
"Yeah. It's great, though. I don't mind."
"You… you don't mind?"
"Not really. I mean, it could make things a bit weird, you know, at times, but I've known for a bit. Seems a bit sudden in execution, though. Not exactly how I expected, but I guess other things have changed quickly, too."
Hermione's shoulders slumped in relief. If he already suspected, though she didn't think she'd been that obvious, it would be a lot easier considering he hadn't seemed to change their relationship. Then again, that didn't necessarily mean that was a good thing. "Ron, I've fancied you for years," she said with a chuckle.
Ron was silent again and Hermione's smile fell instantly when she couldn't read his expression. "Wait, what?"
"I… I thought that's… that's what you were talking about. I…" she fumbled, her brow furrowing as she felt her eyes prickle with embarrassment. Hermione blinked quickly, trying to calm herself down. "What were you talking about?"
"I… thought you fancied Harry."
I don't mind. His words ricocheted in her ears. If he didn't mind, it meant he didn't feel the same way about her. Or he did, but thought Harry was better. She let out a humorless laugh, rolling her eyes. Of course this is how this would work out for her. And now Ron knew, and their plan was ruined and she'd have to tell Harry. Ron would have to see her pretend to have a crush on Harry while knowing he was really the one she wanted. It was all too much. And though it was childish and there was a reason she hadn't done it in a while, she grabbed the Invisibility Cloak from the table and sped off between the shelves and out of Ron's sight.
"Hermione, wait!" he half-whispered after her, but by the time he put the rest of his books down and moved in the direction he saw her go, she was gone.
How could he not have noticed? It all came together to culminate in the moments from the Yule Ball to just a few months ago when she'd sent those birds after him: the looks, the worry, the jealousy, the care he'd come to feel from her. The rumors were true. Lavender was right, though there was no way he could tell her. He took a deep breath, hoping Hermione didn't leave the library - otherwise he would have no way of getting back to the dorms undetected. He needed to find her, and spent a few minutes weaving through aisle after aisle in silence, trying to listen out for any sign of her. When he was about to give up, he closed his eyes, racking his brain for the spell she used.
"Homenum Revelio," he whispered with a hand on his wand, unsure of what would happen. But he felt a tug in a direction behind him, like a compass. He walked slowly as he followed the instinct. The stronger it got, the more careful he stepped, making sure he didn't run into her or step on her if she still had the Cloak on. Then, when it was right in front of him, he hesitantly reached a hand out to tug the fabric off of her. Her arms were wrapped around her knees as her eyes stayed focused on the floor, unmoving.
"Hermione."
She just shook her head softly.
"Hermione…" Ron slowly dropped to one knee in front of her. "Hermione, look at me." Tear-reddened eyes met his for a brief second, and it broke Ron's heart. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't realize…"
"It's okay," she whispered, looking down at the floor again. "I shouldn't have assumed."
"Me either." He moved to sit down next to her. "I really didn't know, though. I mean, I guess it makes sense and I'm starting to realize how thick I've been. But it… doesn't change anything between us. I promise it won't."
He barely heard her say, "I just thought you might feel the same way."
Ron nodded. "I… I'm sorry, Hermione. I… You're beautiful and brilliant and amazing, but-"
"Don't."
Ron's mouth shut softly. "You are, though. And obviously, it's not like I'd be opposed or anything, but that's just… not how I've thought about you much."
She wrenched her eyes up at him again. "Ron, please stop. I don't want to talk about it right now, okay? Maybe we can later, but… I just want to go back to bed." She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and rising to her feet. Ron followed, looking at the Cloak in his hands.
"Are you okay with going back under this with me?"
Hermione nodded wordlessly and Ron crept into place behind her before tossing it over the both of them as they started back towards the common room. Ron had so many questions for her, but he knew she wasn't going to talk about it tonight, if at all. But he couldn't help the guilt that seeped into his chest at almost every interaction they'd had for the past year. He felt lucky that she bid him goodnight after sliding the Cloak off, folding it neatly, and depositing it back into Ron's arms.
"Goodnight, Ron."
"'Night, Hermione." He watched her walk up the stairs, wondering what he was going to tell Harry if she didn't show up for breakfast. He also couldn't ask if Harry knew about her crush without telling him how he'd found out. Maybe he shouldn't have gone with her after all.